Matthew Charles and The Impact Of The First Step Act

Government Affairs Specialist in the area of Criminal Justice Policy at The R Street Institute, Jesse Kelley, told Townhall, “The First Step Act will support reentry programming, redress overly strict sentencing provisions and provide for much-needed reforms like compassionate release and dignity for incarcerated women.”

“It’s likely that we’ll also see more state-level reforms modeled after this bipartisan federal legislation. For example, states like Texas and New York are both discussing bills to increase dignity for incarcerated women this session.”

“Seeing the First Step Act signed into law is a victory for criminal justice reform, but there is still work to be done in implementing all the provisions of the law and ensuring states take up the most beneficial provisions of the new law,” Kelley explained.